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Friday, July 29, 2011

Once again, Bill Belicheck looks like a freakin' genius! In an unexpected series of events today, The New England Patriots trade for two superstars, former Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth, and former Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. Oh yeah, and just one little detail i forgot to mention in the middle of all this, THE. LOCKOUT. IS. OVER. Yep, finito. So what does this mean for the Pats? Well it definetley fills up some big holes on both the offensive and defensive side of the football. The Pats have been without a major defensive end since they traded away Richard Seymour to Oakland back in 2009, Haynseworth could defenitley be the guy to fill that whole. there are some questions as to whether or not he can fit in with the Patriots system, he flourished playing in a 4-3 defense with the Titans but with the Redskins the past few years he's been playing in a 3-4 defensive set and has voiced his displeasure. I don't see too much of a concern though, as the pats like to use multiple defensive fronts, and knowing Bellicheck, he likes to bring out the best in his players and im sure he wont have a problem doing that with Haynesworth. Now on to Ochocinco. The Patriots got both of these guys for late round draft picks over the next two years by the way (classic Bellicheck, low risk, high reward). The other big move of the day was acquiring wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. Ochocinco isn't just another weapon for Tom Brady, he can be used, along with Deion Branch, as a deep threat and someone who can stretch the field. They've needed a legitimate deep threat ever since the Randy Moss fallout last season. This was most exposed in that AFC division game in the playoffs against the Jets last year. If you've been following these two players over the years then you know that they have some character issues which makes this trade questionable to some people. Honestly though I just think of this as another Bill Bellicheck renovation project. Look what what he did with Corey Dillion and Moss, he took from scrub nobodies to superstars who helped lead the Patriots to multiple Super bowls, winning two of them. a lot of people (including me) are making them the favorites to win it all now after these deals, and why not? One thing is for sure though I can't wait for even the preseason to get started, because this is going to be one of the best football seasons league wide we've seen in a long time!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The Marlins bats came alive on Saturday as the fish routed the Cubs 13-3. after losing 2-1 Friday afternoon, the Fish's offense put on a clinic led by two Mike Stanton home runs giving him 20 on the season. Logan Morrison also joined the party by adding in a three run shot of his own. Hanley Ramirez had three doubles and two RBI's. The 13 runs scored was the first time all year the Marlins had scored double digit runs in a game. Javier Vazquez turned in perhaps his best start of the season Saturday, going seven innings, giving up just three runs, walking none, and striking out ten Cubs. The ten strikeouts for Vazquez were the most since he was with the Braves in June of 2009 in a start against the Pirates. He struck out twelve that game. The Marlins will look to take three of the four games in the series against the Cubs tomorrow at 2:20 p.m

Friday, July 15, 2011

Hey everyone,
I'm back, sorry for the wait ( had to throw in a Lil Wayne reference), I've been crazy busy! Since my last post the Marlins have gotten extremely hot, they've won six sxtraight and have climbed to just four games under .500. Tonight was a great team win for the fish, as they scored six runs in the eighth against the Cubs after heading into the inning down 2-0, the six runs being the most they've scored all season in an inning, it all started with a Greg Dobbs three run double that put the Marlins up 3-2, followed by a Gaby Sanchez sac-fly, a Hanley Ramirez RBI single, and a Mike Stanton RBI single. The fish will try to make it seven straight against tommorow afternoon at 2 p.m taking on the Cubs again at Wrigley. Who knows, maybe the good luck ghosts of Marlins fans' favorite Cubbies fan/asshole of Chicago for life Steve Bartman are still around...

Monday, July 4, 2011

Whats up everybody? sorry I haven't posted anything the past couple of days, I've been busy. Hope everyone had a happy 4th of July! OK now I'm gonna do a quick summary of the past three games for the marlins. Saturday: Marlins beat the Rangers 9-5: It seems that ever since Jack has come back, Hanley"s getting back on track (man I'm a good rhymer). From stats as of Sunday from an article on sun-sentinel.com, since June 20th, the day Jack Mckeon took over as interim manager, Hanley Ramirez has been hitting .385 with three home runs and 12 RBI's. Saturday was no exception, as Hanley belted two home runs, including a first inning grand slam as the Marlins hammered the Rangers 9-5. Sunday: Marlins win 6-4: It looked as though for most of the game the Rangers had it in the bag, but the Marlins put together a nice rally in the top of the 8th, scoring 4 runs (all with two outs), capped off with a Logan Morrison RBI double and a Mike Stanton RBI single, but like the rest of the wins for the fish lately, it didn't come easy. going into the bottom of the 9th with a 6-2 lead, closer Leo Nunez gave up 2 runs making it 6-4, but ultimately he would get the save, giving the Marlins there second straight win, and there second straight series win. Sunday: Marlins lose 1-0: Simply put Phillies starter Vance Worly only gave up two hits over seven innings, and the Phillies got the key hit when they needed it ( I was watching fireworks OK, I'm going off of a box score right now:) )

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The Marlins recalled the young 21 year old lefty Brad Hand to make the start Saturday night against the Texas Rangers, while putting right hander Ryan Webb on the disabled list. Hand previously Made three starts for the fish in the absence of ace Josh Johnson, He's 0-3 with a 3.45 ERA. He has shown some potential though, especially in his Major League debut against the Braves on June 7th. Hand allowed 1 hit, an Alex Gonzalez solo shot over six innings, walking one and striking out six. The Marlins would lose that game 1-0. The Marlins take on the Rangers tonight in Arlington. First pitch, 8:05 p.m

For the first time in a while, everything seemed to be going right for the Marlins. They had won two straight despite having a horrible June (5-24), the worst month in franchise history. For those last two games in Oakland everything was clicking, pitching, defense and most importantly offense. Logan Morrison and Hanley Ramirez looked liked they were starting to come out of it as they supplied most of the runs for the Marlins mini-streak. Then last night it was on to Texas to face the Rangers where they would face the hard throwing right-hander Alexi Ogando. Ogando was masterful, striking out eight and walking just two over six and two thirds. He would match up against fellow right hander Anibal Sanchez, who for the fish, has stepped up as the ace in the rotation during All-Star Josh Johnson's stint on the 60 day DL with inflammation in his right shoulder. It was safe to say that this was one of Sanchez's worst outing of the year. He lasted just three and two thirds, giving up 7 runs on 7 hits, all of them earned, Including a three run shot by Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz, while walking four. The Marlins would end up getting blown out in this one, 15-5.

Friday, July 1, 2011

As you guys probably know by now I'm handicapped. I have a disability called cerebral palsy (cp). I have trouble walking from it, and as a result it hinders my ability to play sports. I've tried to play in many of the local handicapped sports leagues in my town (soccer, baseball etc.) but none of the other players shared the same competitive fire that I have because, sadly, the rest of the players barely had the mental or physical presence that I had to be able to know what to do when there was a bat or ball in there hands. Another frustrating thing is that if you kept score, you someone had to be a winner, but at the end of every single game the referees would always say the game ended in a "tie". This made me so damn frustrated every weekend, that eventually I quit. Now don't get me wrong, having a disability myself makes me a great amount of sympathy for those that have it tougher than me. I'm a member of the non-profit organization Best Buddies, which is an organization that raises awareness and helps create friendships for people with disabilities, at my local high school, but I just wish that there was some way that I could play in a type of handicapped sports league that is competitive. Isn't that what sports is about, being competitive and having fun? Now I know you you could say that they have things like wheelchair leagues, etc, but tennis isn't my thing. Another frustrating thing is that whenever you hear an amazing story about someone with a physical impairment doing something amazing, its always about someone who lost a leg or an arm, or someone with no legs or no arms. Don't get me wrong it was amazing to see that one armed wrestler take home the state title but it would be nice to see other athletes with disabilities get recognized for achievements too. A few weeks ago I was online voting for the ESPYS, ESPN's equivalent to an OSCAR. One of the categories really surprised me, best male and female athletes with a disability, so did one of the nominees, who you can read about here. Overall athletes with disabilities should be recognized more often, as I think it would bring inspiration to a lot more people.
I also think there should be more handicapped sports leagues that balance competition and fun.

The NBA took the superstar empire it was building over the last 3 years and just destroyed it, every last bit of it. At midnight last night the NBA and its longtime commissioner David Stern announced that the NBA has officially locked out its players. Think about it, in the early 2000's MJ's great run was over as he went on to sign with the Wizards in 2001 after retiring from the Bulls for the second time in 1999, for a short little comeback, that left the 1999-2005 championships waiting for Kobe and Shaq's Lakers (2000-2002) and Tim Duncan's Spurs (99,03,05). Then came The Heats title with Shaq and D-Wade in 2006, followed by another Spurs title in 07. By then I think everyone was asking, can some other teams get competitive please? Well in the 2007 off-season The Celtics signed there dream team trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and immediately won a title for the first time in 22 years in 2008, Clearly showing everyone that they are a force to be reckon Fending off a re surging, Shaqless, Kobeful Lakers team who made there first trip back to the finals since 2004, 4 games to 2. A year later The Lakers restarted there Dynasty winning back-to-back rings in 2009 and 2010. In the middle of all this a new wave of rookies emerged, Including Derrick Rose. In the 2010 off-season, Pat Riley assembled quite possibly the greatest "dream team" of all time (if they win a championship) with the superstar power of Dwayne Wade, Lebron James and Chris Bosh, The Heat would make it to the finals only to lose to Dirk Nowitski and the surprise Dallas Mavericks. Third year phenom Derrick Rose would win league MVP. This year made it clear, with all the Star power, surprise MVP winners and champions, what will next year hold?! Well the truth is NBA fans, after all this emerging of superstars and arguably one of the greatest NBA seasons of all time, next year may hold nothing at all, as a lockout looms. if you think the NFL and its players aren't close to a deal, than the NBA is light years way from one. Time is off the essence. The NFL's lockout started in March with meetings between the NFL and the NFLPA non-stop, football starts in September. The NBA's lockout started in June, Basketball starts in October and the two sides are as far apart as they have been in 10 years. You do the math. If you thought the NFL might miss a few games, the NBA might miss an entire season, and the NBA has no one to blame but themselves, for some unhappy players, owners and most importantly the fans. If you thought the NFL lockout has some bad blood, the NBA shutdown could be like guerrilla warfare.